Interview today - Approved!!!

[truckerbob 0]

Congratulations and Good Luck !!!

[OBX 51]

Congratulations

[antda 13]

BTW, Ant, once he turned 21 he aged out so he was no longer in the immediate relative category and thus had to go the F1 route.

Ok...Thanks for the clarification there, IR5FORMUMSIE...I had no idea before about an F1 visa..Now I know...Good to learn something new each day...

On that note, it doesn't seem fair that one has to go through the F1 process and wait so long for such....

Personally, I think that if one's parents are American, regardless of age, or other circumstances, then their children should be American too...

Same goes with other countries too...If a parent is a citizen of one country, their children, if they want to, should be a citizen of that country, regardless of age or other circumstances..and shouldn't have to pay extra or wait extra time to go through such....

Oh well, 'tis the rules of immigration...Sigh...

If the rules are like this now, what will be later on down the road, I wonder? Worse? Better? Hmmm....

Either way, glad that the OP's immigration journey was successful here through the F1 route...

Ant

Edited October 29, 2009 by Ant+D+A

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Congrats!!

So was the crazy 7 year wait worth it?!

[R&N 0]

Congrats, and good luck the rest of the way

[Carlawarla 1]

Wishing you the very best! Congratulations!

[milimelo 4,473]

BTW, Ant, once he turned 21 he aged out so he was no longer in the immediate relative category and thus had to go the F1 route.

Ok...Thanks for the clarification there, IR5FORMUMSIE...I had no idea before about an F1 visa..Now I know...Good to learn something new each day...

On that note, it doesn't seem fair that one has to go through the F1 process and wait so long for such....

Personally, I think that if one's parents are American, regardless of age, or other circumstances, then their children should be American too...

Same goes with other countries too...If a parent is a citizen of one country, their children, if they want to, should be a citizen of that country, regardless of age or other circumstances..and shouldn't have to pay extra or wait extra time to go through such....

Oh well, 'tis the rules of immigration...Sigh...

If the rules are like this now, what will be later on down the road, I wonder? Worse? Better? Hmmm....

Either way, glad that the OP's immigration journey was successful here through the F1 route...

Ant

Ant, what you're suggesting would not work - you'd have millions of people coming over and each country definitely has a limit on how many immigrants they can take. That's why they have visa number limits for each category, except for the spouses and children of citizens.

[mikey78 6]

Thank you thank you thank you everyone! Thank you for all the good wishes and kind words.

I got home to TO really tired and sleep was what I needed most I guess Not sure it really registered with me that I was approved yesterday...until maybe my first coffee today In a sense the long wait and all the stress of unknown dates and outcomes builds up like a plot in Greek theater and few minutes of an interview and brief congratulations from the consul just doesn't cut it for good catharis

Let me comment on some of your congratulations

Lgg, the moment you get your interview I will be jumping up and down with you! Drinks in Lil Italy included!

Trailmix, not getting married for all these 7 years wasn't that difficult and definitely saved me from going though a few divorces B)

Steve Treible, I guess we did have the same CO at the interview. One way or another, I still do not understand why he said you would need advance parol to return to the US if you leave before your plastic green card arrives...doesn't make sense. Btw, did you get your passport back?

Darkchilde794, as soon as I get my envelope back with passport I will let you know if NEXT AM is worth the money paid for it

CanAmerican, it seems like everyone was really nice at the consulate, starting from the guards on CO finishing...I guess if you come early enough they will not be pissed off yet by all the disorganized applicants Truth be told, it is so obvious who was from VJ in the consulate...we had our docs in order to be presented, we knew what will follow so no need to be extra anxious, etc.

IR5FORMUMSIE, that's pure luck I didn't have to wait longer Watching Visa Bulletin each month is like looking into a crystal ball You never know what you gonna get...or was that a box of chocolates and life...I am so confused from all that long wait LOL

Ant+D+A, yeah family-based aren't as straight forward as it seems and neither are the issues of citizenship...It's just a mess and that's why they need a reform! One way or another I ended as the only one in my family who was without the US passport...with all the changes at the border we were made acutely aware that it might have serious consequences for our family if this situation continues...one day some border dude might just say that I can't come back home to NY and that's that...

Hugglebuggles, and this links to your question of whether it was worth it...I guess I will be able to tell you in a few years At this point it just felt that it needs to be taken care of as soon as possible...coming back to NY from a visit to Europe always was a painful memory...my whole family swiftly going through the immigration for the US citizens, and me lining up somewhere else to be admitted to the US as a tourist...not to mention that at the border you are always an intending immigrant, so if traveling to the US to visit your SO is difficult while waiting for your interview and visa, this is even worse coz it's taking so damn long. Luckily throughout all these years there was only one time when I had an incident at the border (driving to Boston-Peace Bridge), and not because I didn't have the right paperwork, I actually had too much

Milimelo, it's true but there are other cases when kids born to US citizens (meaning being US citizen at the time of a child's birth) aren't US citizens...I never thought of myself as an immigrant, my great grandma was an immigrant when she left Europe for the US...but actually going through this whole immigration process bureaucratically boxed my identity into 'an intending immigrant' category LOL

Again, thank you all for all the best wishes...and don't ya hope I'd be leaving VJ any time soon My mad theories (like almost forgotten MAST) and the bad jokes will linger on

[lgg 2]

Your mad theories (MAST) and silly jokes better linger on, buster or I will KICK your *ss!

j/k.

Okay, I'm not...

now you have to keep the rest of us sane, k?

Good.

Thank you thank you thank you everyone! Thank you for all the good wishes and kind words.

I got home to TO really tired and sleep was what I needed most I guess Not sure it really registered with me that I was approved yesterday...until maybe my first coffee today In a sense the long wait and all the stress of unknown dates and outcomes builds up like a plot in Greek theater and few minutes of an interview and brief congratulations from the consul just doesn't cut it for good catharis

Let me comment on some of your congratulations

Lgg, the moment you get your interview I will be jumping up and down with you! Drinks in Lil Italy included!

Trailmix, not getting married for all these 7 years wasn't that difficult and definitely saved me from going though a few divorces B)

Steve Treible, I guess we did have the same CO at the interview. One way or another, I still do not understand why he said you would need advance parol to return to the US if you leave before your plastic green card arrives...doesn't make sense. Btw, did you get your passport back?

Darkchilde794, as soon as I get my envelope back with passport I will let you know if NEXT AM is worth the money paid for it

CanAmerican, it seems like everyone was really nice at the consulate, starting from the guards on CO finishing...I guess if you come early enough they will not be pissed off yet by all the disorganized applicants Truth be told, it is so obvious who was from VJ in the consulate...we had our docs in order to be presented, we knew what will follow so no need to be extra anxious, etc.

IR5FORMUMSIE, that's pure luck I didn't have to wait longer Watching Visa Bulletin each month is like looking into a crystal ball You never know what you gonna get...or was that a box of chocolates and life...I am so confused from all that long wait LOL

Ant+D+A, yeah family-based aren't as straight forward as it seems and neither are the issues of citizenship...It's just a mess and that's why they need a reform! One way or another I ended as the only one in my family who was without the US passport...with all the changes at the border we were made acutely aware that it might have serious consequences for our family if this situation continues...one day some border dude might just say that I can't come back home to NY and that's that...

Hugglebuggles, and this links to your question of whether it was worth it...I guess I will be able to tell you in a few years At this point it just felt that it needs to be taken care of as soon as possible...coming back to NY from a visit to Europe always was a painful memory...my whole family swiftly going through the immigration for the US citizens, and me lining up somewhere else to be admitted to the US as a tourist...not to mention that at the border you are always an intending immigrant, so if traveling to the US to visit your SO is difficult while waiting for your interview and visa, this is even worse coz it's taking so damn long. Luckily throughout all these years there was only one time when I had an incident at the border (driving to Boston-Peace Bridge), and not because I didn't have the right paperwork, I actually had too much

Milimelo, it's true but there are other cases when kids born to US citizens (meaning being US citizen at the time of a child's birth) aren't US citizens...I never thought of myself as an immigrant, my great grandma was an immigrant when she left Europe for the US...but actually going through this whole immigration process bureaucratically boxed my identity into 'an intending immigrant' category LOL

Again, thank you all for all the best wishes...and don't ya hope I'd be leaving VJ any time soon My mad theories (like almost forgotten MAST) and the bad jokes will linger on

[Rustbelt 0]

Glad you made it back okay Mikey. Nope, no sign of my wife's passport just yet. We were hoping for today so we could take care of it this weekend, but apparently not. Hopefully it will be here before the date we booked the movers for!!!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I can only imagine how hard it would be to have your family move to the US and you left behind. The fact you were willing to stick it out for 7 years is amazing! Well deserved. Make sure you keep us updated on how life in the US is going for you! In the end I'm sure you'll find it was worth it

[mikey78 6]

Glad you made it back okay Mikey. Nope, no sign of my wife's passport just yet. We were hoping for today so we could take care of it this weekend, but apparently not. Hopefully it will be here before the date we booked the movers for!!!

Hopefully you get it today I would love to get it by next Thursday...already planned my trip on Friday...

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Glad you made it back okay Mikey. Nope, no sign of my wife's passport just yet. We were hoping for today so we could take care of it this weekend, but apparently not. Hopefully it will be here before the date we booked the movers for!!!

Hopefully you get it today I would love to get it by next Thursday...already planned my trip on Friday...

Visa ex machina I love it.

[mike777 0]

Hey I have a question, since this is the Canadian forum. I'm US, my wife is Canadian, I-130 was approved in late August, early Sept.

My wife and I are about to submit our 230 and 864EZ form. Our AOS and IV bills are both paid. We're just waiting on my wifes long form of her birth cert from Ontario. Then we're going to scan and email all our docs (we are in the electronic filing program).

My question is, using this electronic filing and I guess not even using the electronic filing. Does the 230 and 864 have to be sent in the same package or is it separate. I'm guessing separate, as the document cover sheets have a slightly different attn?

Also, I've been looking at some peoples journeys in their signatures', some people seem to have interview dates 3-6 months after sending those out roughly.

My wifes interview is in Montreal. About how long do you think it will be until we receive our letter? I understand from the govt web sites that the letter comes approximately one month before the interview.

Also on that. Is the building difficult to find in Montreal? I've been to Ottawa once this year and I was taken aback that once you enter Quebec, everything is in French. We plan on borrowing a GPS sold in Canada so I'm hoping that helps a lot but Are there any things to watch out for? We're probably going to find out where to go the night before.

Thanks!

[Judyann 0]

Hey guys! Just got out of the consulate and thought I'd share my experience with you So I got APPROVED but before that happened...

...got to the consulate at 7.00am and I was the first person waiting there. Other people started showing up 10 mins later. Around 7.30am security guard opened the door asked for our appointment letters and passports and started letting people in (btw, stand on the left hand side of the door). Then a brief security check and scan: empty pockets, don't bring electonics, no cell phones, etc. After that a guard clipped a letter 'A' to my appointment letter and pointed to the left asking me to head downstairs and wait by the elevator. Ten mins later another guard showed up, collected out passports and appointment letters with letters clipped, packed us in the elevator and off we went to admire a panoramic view of the city. So we were sitting there for maybe another 20 mins before the speaker announced my name, I proceeded to one of the windows where a really nice lady had my file from NVC. As the letter from NVC indicated I gave them all they wanted already. So she asked me for the envelope with the medical and gave me my DS230 to read through if all's correct. Then she asked me for the Xpresspost envelope.

Here, some of you might recall my envelope drama when I was publicly wondering on VJ whether one must have Xpresspost or Next AM Priority Courier...it seems that it doesn't matter as long as: it is pre-addressed (so write your address before you enter the consulate) and it is the right size - the gigantic kite-like large envelope.

Then this nice lady (and I mean really nice and friendly) asked me to take a seat and wait for fingerprinting. Some 10 mins later she came back, scanned me in and asked me to go back to the general waiting area and wait until I hear my name being called into a booth 7 or 8. Probably 20 mins later they called me into one of the interview booths. A young friendly consul greeted me and asked me to raise my hand and swore me in. Now, many of you might be wondering at this point...I am neither CR/IR nor K, I fall into the F1 category (unmarried sons/daughters of US citizens) so the interview might look a bit different from what you are used to.

First, he asked me to sign an affidavit that I am not married, because people in family based F1 have to be single (otherwise they fall down to F3). Then he asked where I planned to live once I moved to the US, when was the first time I visitited the US, how long my stays in the US were in general, what I was doing professionally and when I am planning on moving there. Luckily my birth certificate attests to my genuine relationship to my parents so all that bona fide relationship BS doesn't apply. The consul was really nice and kept the interview very light. In the end he pulled out a Welcome to the US letter and congratulated me warmly. Yippee!

But......

Then he said, that he wants to explain a couple of details concerning my visa and here he lost me totally. He said that once I enter the US I have to stay there until I get my plastic green card or else...exactly, what else? They might not let me in at the border!!! Because the immigrant visa works as a proof of your permanent residency but is not meant for traveling like multiple tourist visa so if I would like to come back to the US (assuming I left before I got the plastic green card) I would have to apply for advance parol at the border and it is at the border officer's discretion whether I get one or not...

WHAT?

He then confidently added that I might check the website for details cbp.gov....At this point I was more than confused but luckily I quicky recalled that some other people who interviewed recently reported a similar situation where they were told something that's not necessarily accurate. Of course in a moment like this one does doubt his/her own good judgement so I just listened to what he said without objections. But deep down... My fingers were itching to google it immediately and show him what US embassy websites say about this issue.

Here is what I found right off the bat after I left the consulate. First hit after I googled the issue, it is from the US embassy in Armenia but the regulations are the same everywhere. (http://armenia.usembassy.gov/using_your_visa2.html)

-------------------------------

Receiving your Green Card

As soon as you enter the United States on your immigrant visa, you will become a Legal Permanent Resident. Your I-551 Alien Registration Card (commonly referred to as a green card) will be sent via the mail to the address you listed on your immigrant visa application a few weeks after you enter the United States. However, for a period of one year your endorsed immigrant visa may serve as temporary proof of permanent residence. If necessary, you may leave the United States before you have received your green card, using your endorsed immigrant visa as evidence of your permanent legal status. After one year, Legal Permanent Residents must travel in and out of the United States with their foreign country passport and green card.

-------------------------------

Cleary what he was telling me is at odds with: 1) what the official websites say, 2) experiences of other VJ members who used to travel on their immigrant visas before they received green cards in mail. But you ain't gonna argue with a consul, will ya? So I just kindly thanked him (after all, he was super nice and approved me with no problems) and I left the consulate few minutes before 9am.

So here I am...waiting for the passport countdown starts now!

Oh, and just in case some of you will ask about my timeline: 7 years

Congratulations for the success!